Founded in 1850 at the Atlantic (northern) terminus of the original Panama Railroad (now the Panama Canal Railway), the settlement was first called Aspinwall, named for one of the builders of the railway. Colón is the Spanish form of Columbus; the name of the neighbouring port of Cristóbal is Spanish for Christopher. After completion of the railway in 1855, Colón overshadowed the older Caribbean ports of Panama, and with the first plans for the isthmian canal it took on additional prestige. Built on swampy Manzanillo Island, the city was notoriously unhealthful until U.S. Col. William Crawford Gorgas, in charge of sanitation during the construction of the Panama Canal, gave it a new system of waterworks and sewerage and drained the surrounding swamps.

The great portworks and docks built by the U.S. government in the former Canal Zone at Cristóbal, now essentially a suburb, make Colón one of the most important ports of the Caribbean Sea. Colón also is a major commercial centre, tourist destination, and port of call for many cruise ships. It was made a free-trade zone in 1953 and is one of the world’s largest duty-free ports. The city has a customhouse, large public buildings, churches, and several modern hotels. However, a large proportion of its inhabitants live in poverty, and crime is rampant. The city’s population is composed chiefly of the descendants of black labourers imported from the British West Indies during construction of the canal. Colón is on the Boyd-Roosevelt Highway, which runs to Panama City, and it has an airport. Pop. (2000) 42,133; (2010) 34,655.

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